Inside the Federal Security Service (FSB), a power struggle has begun due to the upcoming vacancy of several leadership positions, including the seat of the FSB Director himself, Alexander Bortnikov, reports Important Stories.
According to sources, a domino effect of resignations among well-known generals is likely, as the Russian power system is structured in such a way that the weakening of a key figure leads to problems for their protégés. "A fierce infighting has begun," state a current and two former FSB officers.
Bortnikov will turn 73 in November. Although the service term limit does not apply to him due to his high rank of Army General, he has reportedly long been asking to retire due to health reasons.
Sources name the primary candidates for the position as the First Deputy Director of the FSB, Sergey Korolev, who has long-standing ties with leaders of the Russian criminal underworld, and the head of the counterintelligence service, Vladislav Menshchikov. However, Korolev is considered a likely candidate "by inertia," as previous FSB heads came from the economic sector to keep major businessmen in check.
"Priorities have changed: the importance of controlling the oligarchs has passed. Now the key issue is control over the army and the military-industrial complex, saboteurs, and terrorists, which is Menshchikov's area," says Andrey Soldatov, editor-in-chief of agentura.ru and an expert on Russian special services.
Additionally, Nikolai Patrushev, a presidential aide who headed the FSB for about nine years until 2008, has lost his influence within the FSB. Although he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council afterward, he maintained significant influence within the service. According to sources, Patrushev's people still work in the FSB, but after his reassignment to the "humiliating position" of presidential aide for shipbuilding, they are unlikely to retain their positions.
Thus, the resignation of one of the key generals of Patrushev's team and the entire FSB, Alexey Sedov, the head of the Constitutional Protection Service, who turns 70 this year, can be expected. The Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported that complaints against the high-ranking security official arose after the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow, which claimed the lives of 145 people.
Important Stories sources note that the bureaucratic struggle for the vacant position has already begun: among others, Ivan Tkachev, the head of Directorate "K," which has repeatedly been used by the Presidential Administration's domestic political bloc to eliminate undesirables, is vying for Sedov's place. However, sources believe he is unlikely to emerge victorious in this power struggle, as he is considered a protégé of Igor Sechin, the head of "Rosneft," who also had significant influence in the FSB but gradually lost his standing.
In June, it was reported that Colonel-General Sergey Beseda, the head of the 5th FSB Service, was dismissed—he was associated with Putin's fiasco at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. It was reported that the division's officers provided the president with false intelligence, claiming that regions of the neighboring country were waiting for "liberation" from Kyiv and would "rush" to Russia as soon as the opportunity arose. As a result, Russian troops were unprepared for the large-scale resistance in Ukraine and suffered heavy losses.
Alexey Komkov, who was previously Deputy Head of the Counterintelligence Service, has taken over as head of the 5th FSB Service.
